A Georgian priest is one of nearly 40 people feared missing after a fire on a Greek ferry in the Adriatic Sea.
Italy said late December 29 that all the passengers had been evacuated from the stricken ferry, the "Norman Atlantic," off the coast of Albania.
Ten people were confirmed dead, and ships searched for signs of the 38 people still listed as missing, although there were doubts about the accuracy of the ship's manifest.
Ilia Kartozia, the head of an Orthodox Christian monastery in the eastern Georgian city of Mtskheta, was unaccounted for.
Seven other Georgian citizens were reportedly rescued from the ferry, which was carrying more than 400 people from Greece to Italy when the fire broke out.
Georgia’s ambassador to Italy told Rustavi 2 television that all the Georgians who were rescued were in good health.